New Zealand Maps in the Palm of Your Hand

Travellers to New Zealand can now load a set of GPS compatible maps on to Palm and Pocket PC PDA's and Smartphones. This basically forms a searchable atlas that can be carried in the palm of your hand. Connecting to a GPS unit it will help you quickly find your way around the country.

(PRWEB) December 9, 2004 -- Tourists and business people visiting New Zealand or in fact anyone with PDAs or Smartphones now have easy access to a wide range of interactive maps developed by New Zealands premier geospatial solution provider, GeoSmart Limited. These maps will display on both Palm and Pocket PC platforms loaded with the popular HandMap application.

HandMap transforms a PDA into a full-featured atlas with searchable street information as well as a lot of details such as parks, rivers, and other landmarks in addition to emergency locations such as hospitals. You can zoom in for more detail, or pan out for the bigger picture.

GPS plug in software is available which when combined with compatible GPS hardware provides a 'You are here solution and you can also set a destination which will prompt HandMap to point you in the right direction.

Maps can be purchased, along with the software application, from www.handmap.net. Options include purchasing individual regions, or a complete set of New Zealand maps.

We have been getting inquiries daily for New Zealand PDA maps," according to GeoSmart CEO Phil Allen, especially from tourists planning visits to New Zealand, but also from local businesses. The partnership with HandMap, who are a leader in this space, allows us to make these maps readily available."

About GeoSmart Limited
GeoSmart is the premier aerial photography and mapping company in New Zealand. In addition to being the leading supplier of cartographic and aerial maps, we are blazing the trail in digital Smart Maps including in-car navigation, vehicle tracking and fleet management. GeoSmart provides Location Based Services (LBS) intelligent maps for the widest range of devices including PCs, PDAs, Smartphones and Mobiles. This includes features such as 'Where is?, 'Where are my assets?, 'How do I get from -- to-? for example.

Clients include Wises Maps, DOC, Vodafone, Automobile Association, NavMan, Siemens VDO, Toll Rail, and BMW in addition to every local body in New Zealand and Transit NZ.

About HandMap
HandMap Co. is based in Melbourne, Australia and has been developing systems for PDAs since their birth. The first version of HandMap was released in 1998 and was the first mapping program for any PDA. Versions of HandMap run on Palm OS handhelds and Pocket PC handhelds leading the market in ease of use and value for money.

HandMap Co. continues to evolve its products and expand its map coverage. It was the winner of the Pocket PC 2002 Awards for Maps and Directions. HandMap can be used in stand alone mode or in conjunction with a GPS plug in will provide location and directional support for a range of GPS devices.

Contact:
Luigi Cappel at GeoSmart Limited on (09) 415 3101 or Email luigi.cappel@geosmart.co.nz.

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